Exile Vilify
by SythoGamer
Summary: A female sniper, and a male scout. One on RED, (Reliable Excavation Demolition), one on BLU (Builders League United). It's already enough to say that both teams are at war with each other. But when both cross paths, they only intended to be friends, then finally eventual romance. But when Darkness rises, both teams must come as one. *excuse my shitty summary*
1. Synth

_I promise you all that this fiction won't be entirely porn with words. I swear. It'll seem like it for a few chapters maybe, maybe in a few events, but it wasn't intended to be entirely "goo goo romance." But anyway, the main reason why this was born was because a friend had wanted me to write a story for him and show him it, and so I did. He ended up really liking it, so I decided to make a story of my own, until I felt that my work had to be heard somewhere. _

_The plot is sort of TF2-ish, such as the classes and background. But after a while it kinda rips from a lot of my other favorite games too. And I know some names are going to sound really shitty but, I possess the power of the Internet and Literature here. _

_Also before we begin, keep in mind that this is my first fanfiction. Ever. And if you write a review, keep your racist, negative comments to yourself. I appreciate that you are writing a review for me, but try to keep it polite._

_I'm blabbering too much. Onwards!_

"Synth, why is bin' a Sniper so good to ya?" John asked his mate in his Boston accent.

The female sniper shrugged, brushing a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, adjusting her hat. The young scout had a lot of things on his mind, all of them being random. And she loved him for that.

"Aw gee, I dunno mate, why is bin' a Scout so great to ye?" she said. John blushed, and laid his head in her lap on the sofa.

"Awww sweet… ya know I can't answer that," he flirted. Synth hadn't been very sure about telling the others hired by Mann. Co. her true identity; not even John. But for now, she'd keep it secret. But where had Synth come from? Even she didn't completely know, it was an old nickname passed down by her family… and a bloody messy family she came from. Then letting out a relaxed sigh, she placed a light kiss on his left brow. Blushing, he closed his eyes while Synth pulled his black cap off and stroked his long brown hair. Glancing out at the flowering sunset, she sighed. How she came to meet John was a rather… _bloody _(not very romantic) story. Literally.

She remembered simply sitting within her favorite sniping nest on the battlefield, not aware that John had discovered her and secretly left the cart (more of a bomb, she liked to say) to finish her off. When he had sprinted to the nest, expecting her to be caught off guard, he was half wrong. She had been rather surprised to see that she'd been discovered, but she unsheathed her Kukri and swiped his own Scattergun out of the abandoned water tower, and ended up pinning him down against the ground, blade to his neck, both of them bruised and bloodied.

"Any last words mate?" she'd taunted. A fresh stream of blood flowing down her jaw.

"…. Ya…. a nice looking' darlin'…." he said, his left cheek swollen, tears streaming his eyes as his short life was about to end. Just as she was about the swipe the blade cleanly across his neck to end the Scout's life, she stopped.

"Excuse me?" she demanded. The Scout choked up a few sobs. "I said ya were… I dunno… _cute?_" he seemed to be surprised at his own dialogue. She suddenly blushed, and she made that she'd heard the weeping young man right. With trembling fingers, she moved the blade away from his neck, to his surprise. "Weren't… ya gonna…. gut me?" he asked.

"I don't get it. _Do you want me to?_" she asked, picking herself off him. His eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head. Chuckling herself, she reached out her hand.

"I'm… err… Synth…" she said. She stood a mere foot taller than him. He clasped her hand between his own, and stood up, almost leaning on her. She laughed, and wiped blood away from his cheeks for him. Then changing to a more polite tone, despite her Australian accent.

"And you are…?"

"Um… John," He seemed rather dazed, watching this girl she found attractive. Then she fixed her sunglasses, and picked up her Sniper Rifle, sheathed her knife, and glanced at the boy. _Why is he still bloody here? _she thought.

"So… you're just gonna leave me?" he asked, a bit disappointed.

"Well what else do you want me to do mate?" she said, walking to the ladder at the window, leaning on her rifle. John walked closer to her, so close that their noses almost touched. Then her eyes darted around, once positive that no one was around, she kissed the Scout's lips. It lasted for no longer than five seconds, but she had felt the sparks of romance for John.

Returning her thoughts to the present, she looked down at her lover. He'd curled up and took a snooze in her lap. She smiled for a moment at him curled up tightly beside her, but then faded to a straight look of disappointment. The issue about them having themselves this close was… that they were on different teams. Synth, being on the RED (Reliable Excavation Demolition), and John being on the BLU (Builders League United). And them being in this very room together like friends… was basically a crime. She ran her gloved hand through his hair, and tucked the cap back over his small head. Carefully slipping away from the sofa, she kissed him on his forehead. He squeezed the corner of a pillow, assuming it was her hand. She smiled slightly, and it once again dropped to a straight look.

"I wish it wasn't so hard," she sighed, and left into the night.


	2. John

_Well everyone keep in mind that I'm kinda shitty at creating character names. _

_Yeah I know Synth is a shitty name for a girl and John is crappy name for a Scout. I'm going to say this to you now that I kinda post on random events, mostly aimed towards the weekends when I have the most time. Aside from that, homework and school is the main thing in the way. And don't expect too many happy endings. Cause I don't believe in any :P_

_I might as well also leave here saying that I truly am getting sick of all these gay love stories and fanfictions that look like a 7-year-old wrote them. I won't name any, despite that some are actually okay, but I'm sure you've been there._

_F**k, I'm blabbering again._

Waking up on the empty sofa, he felt the symptoms disappointment. Synth often worried about the relationship, and so did he. He'd often been caught lately in the lounge of the BLU base, and everyone just began to assume that he was getting lazy. Quickly sprinting from the room this time, he slipped into his room after trying to hide any signs that he'd been in the lounge. Looking around the room, sunrise was cracking free from the night. Daring to check the time, it was 5:32 AM. And they'd all have to get out of bed at 7:15 AM.

Then he let out a sigh after around 6 AM. He'd been basically lying down for thirty minutes there, unable to fall asleep once again. He decided to maybe take a walk, only alone. In fact it was unlike him, for he felt he was more of an indoor person in the mornings. And he usually took walks at sunset with Synth when they had the chance. Slipping on his cleats, he quietly walked outside.

After walking a few blocks away from the facility, he sighed, and sat down on a stone mounted into the ground.

Digging through his pocket, he felt a gum wrapper, a used tissue, and a cond-he found it. Synth had given it to him a year after they met. It was a photo of her when she wasn't yet hired by Mann Co. She was sitting on a crate in a dim shed, strips of the sunlight covering her arms and legs. She seemed very into her work, concentrating on whatever piece of shit ran by. He smiled, and tucked it back into his pocket. He tried to remember the last time he ever had… well, a _crush. _It seemed like a rather strong word for romantic feelings in someone. Scratching his bare chin, he popped in a stick of gum.

Well there _was _that girl Madeline Epifano that he once had feelings for. It was until he tried to kiss her that he got slapped and shoved into the trash. Then he chuckled to himself. How stupid of him.

He wondered if Synth was busy. Probably not, but he didn't feel that he wanted to be annoying or anything under that category. Drumming his fingers on the cold painted stone, he got up and decided to take a quick jog, to clear his head a bit. After running around for an hour or so, he walked to a corner with an analog clock mounted into the brick structure. Adjusting his cap and scratching his long hair, he squinted and tried to do some math. He never really bothered to remember the procedure to read such time devices. He mainly used digital ones for the sake of time and brain cells. It was 6:57.

Slowly walking down the street back to the BLU base, he fiddled with the gum wrapper as he walked. A cool breeze swept through the air, he breathed in the scent of fresh spring air.

"What are _you _doin' up so bloody early mate?"

He jumped. He was about to approach his own quarters before the BLU Sniper had approached him so sternly. "Bitch, I should be askin you the same question," he shot back, chewing the gum with a increase in rhythm. If there were things he could say about _their _Sniper and the RED female sniper he knew so well, it would be "BLU has a piece of shit and RED has my sweetheart." He turned to glare into the Sniper's eyes. The Aussie rolled them, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I've been watching' ye, _Scout. _The scope doesn't lie. You've been talking to that RED Sniper, for all that the bitch could be doin' to ye." John could feel a cold knife stab through his heart. And when he thought no one knew. "Pppppt, where'd ya see that crap from?" he demanded, spitting the gum back into the wrapper. "Oh I saw," the Sniper said. "Must've been a spy. I don't know what the _fuck _your talkin about," he lied.

"Ah, mate what would ye mum say at your dirty mouth?"

"Aye shut the hell up about my ma!" he said, suddenly angry. "Whatever. Just don't forget it boy, I'm watching you," and he stormed away. As he did, John rolled his eyes again and spat "Freaking waste of crap."

_"Mission begins in 20 seconds."_

Adjusting his cap, he grunted. He was kind of getting sick staying around these bastards. "I sometimes wish we could run away, take a run home. Together," he'd admitted to Synth. "We wouldn't last 5 miles," she'd replied. "Aw come on Syn'. Think about it. Wide open spaces. No more morons jumping' along thinkin' their so great. All this freaking blood we lose."

Letting those events brush to the back of his mind, he loaded his Scattergun. "Eh, one day sweetheart. One day," he murmured silently. He could feel the Sniper's glares piercing his back, but he tried to shake the thoughts off him. If anyone was going to ask why he'd basically been frolicking away from their range, he was going have to say "None of your business."

_"Mission begins in 10 seconds."_

_Time to push the cart. Wheew, _he thought. And as the alarm rang aimlessly across the land, he sprinted out of the gate and dodged the bullets of the RED Engineer's sentry. He decided that after a few points where Synth's nest would be he'd scamper and escape to her. They continued to dance around the cart uselessly as RED mercenaries attempted to stop them. Sometimes John had ended getting those feelings where he slightly regretted making the RED team lose. Unless a Soldier was trying to have a rocket meet his head. Then he'd change his mind after such a scenario. But for now, screw it.

RED Demoman popped a set of Sticky Bombs onto the track. Calmly dashing away from the cart, he heard the scoffs of his teammates, then tuned to screams and cries of pain. Grinning, he returned to the cart as his stunned teammates struggled to keep up.

_"The cart is reaching a checkpoint!" _

After reaching the third point, he let his teammates scoff him again as he ran off leaving only a trail of dust behind, until he heard the thundering cackle of a sniper rifle. He dared to turn and glance up at the tower. A wide grin suddenly spread across his face, and he could see Synth waving down at him as she shot a Heavy from the distance. He whirled around pathetically in surprise as the Medic backed closer to the cart. Then his bright grin turned into a utter terror.

The Sniper's words rang through his own mind, he heard him warn _"Don't forget it boy, I'm watching you." _

All the Scout could seem to reply now was "You bastard." He stopped in the sand, and Synth suddenly spilled out a stream of blood into the air, and slumped back into the tower. Then he darted his gaze to the other half of the place. There, standing and running from the scene, was the BLU Sniper. The cold feeling of a knife blade stabbed through his own heart once again. Oh, he saw what was going on, alright. Letting the thought of the sniper fall aside, he dashed to her aid.

But another problem he couldn't ignore was…. he didn't really entirely know how to treat a wounded Sniper. Medical knowledge was out of the question. He tucked the Scattergun under his arm and rushed up the ladder, and into tower.

"Oh my god…." he murmured, and in front of him was a pool of fresh blood, and Synth clutching her leg. Feeling cold tears rushing down his cheeks, he kneeled beside her and picked her up into his arms. "…John…?" she murmured, looking up from her glasses. "I'm here sweet," he choked out. "That's…. very sweet of you… dear…" she answered. Her face was suddenly chalk white, beads of sweat streaming down her forehead as she slowly bleed from her wound.

"Oh… LORD I'm not a freaking' Medic," he said, rubbing his head in frustration. "Get me to a supply locker…" she murmured. "But I'm not a RED Scout," he said, confused. She stroked his thin arms. "You're fast enough… to get me there… in time…" she smiled. Nodding only slightly, he grabbed his Scattergun and pulled her onto his shoulders. He started to rush the ladder, and sprinting to where ever the hell the RED base was.

Finally reaching the door, he helped her stand on her feet. She leaned on the wall, and tried to smile as she clutched the handles of the supply locker while she bled.

"Thanks… John. I guess I can have faith in a BLU Scout like you."


	3. Spring Break

_Whew! Chapter 3. You can probably tell I'm all doing this in my spare time so… Erm, nevermind._

_My town is still recovering from the damage of Hurricane Sandy, and we got our power back only Thursday. But anyway, I'll try to keep these little *before the chapter* notes short._

_"Cette blesse comme l'enfer!"_

Bursting from the door came the RED Spy, looking shaken.

"What's wrong mate?" she said, trying to wince as she adjusted the position of her wounded leg. She probably would have bled to death if it weren't for John. The bullet wound still hurt terribly, but she could pull through for a few more minutes.

"Don't you ask me that question. Because you're _next,_" he said. She frowned, and the bell rang, the screen flashing "**NEXT IN LINE**". She sighed and limped into the room. There stood the RED Medic, cleaning up from the last examination. He turned, and put on a rather disturbing grin that pediatricians attempt to give you when they're about to inject you with vaccine. She sighed, and followed his gesture for her to sit down on the seat. He slipped on a new pair of gloves, and adjusted his small glasses.

Then he clucked his tongue at her bloodstained pants, and examined it closely. "Ah, shot by a sniper weren't you?" he said. She shrugged. "Out of the blue." Then he grinned, and went to a cabinet.

"Oh I promise this won't take long," he said.

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Stumbling out of the room, she adjusted her hat and walked past everyone else. She glanced at the RED Scout. _Don't get any ideas, he's nothing like John, _she thought to herself. The entrance to the hall swung open, and in waddled the RED Pyro. Holding a magazine under his (her maybe? she didn't entirely know) arm, sat down on an empty seat, and popped it open. She waved to the Pyro. Glancing up at her, he waved back, and murmured something in his muffled language. Something about the Pyro was… mysterious. Whatever gender this one may be, something about him or her gave Synth a rather odd feeling. She wondered if the masked man slept dressed completely like that. The Scout cowered as he came next to meet whatever pain the examination would bring.

Her leg felt rather stronger now, like someone had popped it off, fixed it, and reattached it. Then she sighed and looked at her wristwatch. It was about 2:35. Maybe she should stop by in John's place and tell him that she was fine. She shrugged, and started to walk in that direction. Maybe a talk with him could fix her day a bit.

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If there could be another thing he hated about visiting his own home in Boston, it would be his older brothers. He was basically outshone by the seven other boys his whole life. And coming to visit a week for Spring Break? Forget it. The afternoon before he'd leave, he decided to spend his last few hours with Synth before he'd leave.

"Can't you just say that your busy?" she asked him, laying back in the grass. He shrugged, and fell into the grass after her, spreading his arms and legs out wide.

"I've already lied to Ma by sayin' I was a training to be a track athlete," he said. She chuckled, and adjusted her sunglasses. "You'd make a good track athlete," she shrugged. "Daw, but this job led me to you sweet," he teased. She smiled, and closed her eyes, letting the brim of her hat shield her eyes.

"So how's the leg?" he asked, rolling onto his stomach to examine the job of the RED Medic. Synth folded her hands over her stomach and smiled. "I would probably be dead if I limped to the locker myself," she shrugged. John suddenly went stiff, and looked down at his lap. The sun seemed to pull itself down faster. He began to form boiling hatred for the BLU Sniper for nearly killing her. "Is something wrong?" she suddenly asked. "Its… nothing," he said, trying to crack a fake smile. She wasn't very convinced, but she decided to let it go. Curling up beside him, she laid her head in his lap, and closed her eyes again. He tucked his arms around her head, and sighed. Life didn't seem to forgive, like a fussy child. Sometimes he wondered what Heaven would be like. Life after death, if there was one. Or did the souls of humans just live on in different forms? He wasn't very religious, much less did he read any mythology. He stroked Synth's warm brown hair, and placed a kiss on her nose. He could feel her warmth against his legs, and he liked the presence of another human. Then he realized something. Synth was his only best friend he really had. She understood him well, knew what he meant when he said his share of a conversation. He smiled to himself, and tucked her closer to him.

"You know what we should do?" she suddenly asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't I go to Boston with ye?"

He stared down at her, surprised. "I don't know about that Synth…" he said. He tried to imagine what his brothers would say about her. The feeling of being excluded under their shadows swept over him. "Well ya did say ya would rather be here than there," she shrugged. "It's just… my brothers… their…"

"Dicks? Assholes?"

Shoveling down a lump of air, he nodded. He dusted blades of grass off himself, and she picked herself off of ground after him. They walked back taking a long route instead of a shorter one. John looked down at his cleats, holding her hand as they walked down the block.

"So do you want me to come with you or not?" Synth asked halfway. Thinking hard for a few more minutes, he nodded. "Okay… well, but I'm telling you, try to get to breakfast early and hide your stuff. You definitely don't want the bastards to be taking your crap and never giving them back again." He tried to say it at a straight, expressionless tone. She burst into laughter, and he joined her. Then he took a breath, and sighed.

"I love you sweetheart," he said. The Sniper blushed, and they hugged for a long while before they left to their separate places.

_Well… that escalated quickly. I'll admit right now that I'm kinda pinching myself when I write dialogue such as "sweetheart", "dear", or "sweet". _

_Hey, well, it's to add to the 25% romance theme I guess. _


	4. Sentenced To Death

_Woo… Chapter 4. _

_I'm gonna try not to spoil the whole thing here, but here is the plot twist. No ones gonna care but I'm writing this after a football game thing we had at school called "PowderPuff." It's like football, but instead it's girls playing and boys are the coaches._

_And the 7th grade finally beat the 8th for the first time in 32 years! WOO!_ _And nobody cares._

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Spring break was… interesting. And by interesting we can all say in better terms, a pure week of shit. To John at least.

His brothers had teased him more time than he could count. What day has it been-the 1st day. He sighed, and flipped around on the bed. His hand rested onto Synth's, who was still asleep. He remembered growing up in this room as a child. The sheets were new, but the room was stripped away from all his posters and wardrobe (he couldn't believe his mother hadn't touched this room since he was hired by Mann Co.) were empty.

He checked the (digital) clock on the nightstand. It was only six in the morning. He remembered once as a boy being teased by his older brothers that if he woke up at 2:00-3:00 in the morning, he was being watched. So every time he woke up between two and three, he'd curl up tightly in bed. But that was him as a five year old boy. Then he sighed, and tucked his arms around Synth's waist. He planted a kiss on her cheek, and stroked her arms.

The sun was slowly peeking through the blinds, the light covering his wrinkled blue shirt and the sheet. After about a few more minutes, he heard the stove turn on and stumbled downstairs. He scratched his messy hair, and slipped into a chair at the table.

"Morning John."

"Morning Ma."

He was still half asleep, but his mother slipped a plate stacked with three fresh pancakes on it. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she went back to cooking.

"Honey you never told me you had a girlfriend," she suddenly said. He suddenly stood up, as though if she had spilled ice water onto him with usage of words. He clutched the fork tightly. Nearly choking on the pancakes, he swallowed, and took a quick sip of orange juice.

"Where…. where did you hear that?" he burst. His mother was cleaning a plate from last night's dinner. "Oh who else do you think that girl was? She's your girlfriend, isn't she?" she smiled cheerfully. He slumped into the chair. Admitting to someone (especially Ma) other than Synth was something he'd never done before. And he'd never been prepared either. Rubbing his eyes for a brief moment, he swallowed. "You can tell me sweetheart. I won't tell the boys, if that's what you were thinking," she laughed. He frowned, and looked down at his empty plate.

"I… I guess…" he sighed. Then he got up and went outside for a long jog.

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"Bloody hell…" the Sniper looked all corridors. Where was the boy?! He sighed in frustration, and adjusted his hat. Then a sudden terrible thought struck him. For all he knew… he could have escaped… _with her. _He then adjusted his glasses and started to sprint down the hall. Bursting into the room, he was gasping for air.

"Well where is he?"

"Is he dead?"

"Mdddddpph?"

The Sniper sighed, and shook his head. "I know something else."

"What?" the Spy asked, rolling his eyes. Then he kept quiet for a few seconds, and opened his mouth to speak. "He's not dead, not kidnapped, not anything."

"Then what happened?!" the Soldier demanded. "He fell in love with the enemy. Ran off with her," he smirked, voice getting dramatically low. They suddenly gasped, shocked to hear what the man had said. However, the Spy seemed unimpressed.

"And what is it that you want us to do, bushman?"

"I say we track him down. Don't you remember that we tested tracking devices on him once? And he never knew that we still have a few left somewhere in the boy's arm?" They all exchanged glances with each other. Then the Spy stepped up.

"I volunteer." They all looked at the Frenchman. He seemed rather confident to find the Scout. "Well… I'll connect with the microchip," the Engineer announced, and walked out with the Spy.

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John felt a rather… well, _buggy _feeling on his left arm.

"What's wrong?" Synth asked, squeezing his hand. He shook his head. "It's… I don't know… nothing," he sighed, and laid back in the grass. She hugged him, watching the sun beaming down at the both of them. She really liked the park nearby their house. It was quiet and peaceful, and occasionally a few joggers would pass by. She squeezed him tightly, and placed her head under his cheek. Deciding to let it go, she relaxed.

"You know, we should go home. Ma's gonna nag me again," he said, dusting off his cleats. She raised an eyebrow, but she got off the grass and they walked to the house rather silently. John pulled the door open, and kicked his cleats off inside. His mother was in the kitchen washing up for lunch.

"Ma, where'd the other guys go?" he asked. They were gambling over a baseball game if he remembered correctly. She'd placed another few plates on the table. "Oh they went out to buy some sugar," she shrugged. "But… Ma we still have sugar last time I checked," he said cautiously. "I know that dear," she suddenly grinned, and her skin burned into wisps of gray smoke.

"Cause I'm _obviously _not your mother."

Both Synth and John stepped back, stunned. In front of them was the BLU Spy. "And I know who this _fiend _is, non?" John stepped back farther, towards the supply closet in the corner. "What… _how did you find me?!" _he shrieked. Synth darted her eyes between them. The Spy snorted.

"_Vous n'avez aucune idée. _We have a chip inserted into your arm. The BLU Engineer found it, thus bringing me to you," he smirked. John shook his head, and dared to look the Spy in the eye. "What did you do to my mother?!" he screamed. He rolled his eyes, twirling his sharp Balisong in between his fingers. "Oh not much. I simply told them that you were, _in the hospital _I guess," he shrugged. The Scout felt cold tears run down his cheeks. "Synth… run. RUN!" he screamed in outrage. John rushed the Frenchman, tackling him to the ground. His move giving her a matter of a few seconds, she burst out the door and ran down the block, running into oblivion.

She needed to return to her base, is what John wanted her to do. Whether she liked it or not.

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"Ow! Stop it!" John shrieked. _Click. _

He forced his eyes open, and gasped for air. All he could see was a bright light pointed in front of his face, and the BLU Spy. He was cuffed to a chair held down by the Medic and Heavy to keep him from squirming. Suddenly he wished he'd kept his eyes closed. The Spy could sense the fear in the boy's blood. He pulled a cigarette from his case, and started to pace around the dark room. It felt rather like the typical dark-room-and-light-in-your-face setting in a spy movie. Only this was rather makeshift.

"Well, why don't we settle this professionally, non?" he sneered, and lit the cigarette. John coughed at the smoke curling over his face. "What do you want?!" he spat. The man only kept pacing, showing beams of amusement.

"Don't play stupid with me boy," he laughed. Then he leaned forward and looked the Scout into the eyes. "You _escaped _with the RED Sniper. We all know you did, and you _obviously _know that I have seen it for myself," he said. He tugged at his bonds.

"Little boy, it is no use to move!" the Heavy sneered.

"So? How are you gonna prove it?!" John could only lie. Then the Spy let out a fresh curl of smoke, and smiled. "Because I,have _this!" _he slapped a stack of photos onto his lap. His face went pale. Spy had been watching them for an entire day. There were pictures of them simply engaged in conversation together, holding hands, walking, almost everything they did. Looking back up at the man facing him, he whimpered, "What's going to happen?"

"You, _have been sentenced to death._"


	5. Rising

_So John is sentenced to death. *sips tea*_

They cuffed him to a metal bar.

Then they planted bombs. But to make it even more painful and terrifying, the engineer had programmed it so that whatever RED mercenary came and attempted to open fireon him, the bombs would detonate at the sound of gunfire. It would definitely kill the Scout, but not very positive on the RED intruder.

He heard gunfire on the levels above. Making sure no other BLU team members were nearby, he started to cry for help.

She needed to find him.

Hearing faint cries, she suddenly pulled up from the scope. Gunfire drowned the voice for a moment. She dared to move towards to where the cries had come from. "_…SOMEBODY HELP!" _She stopped, and started to run in the direction of the noise. She heard sharp clangs of metal chains against metal. Sprinting faster, she started to call back. "…_Where are you?!" _

"…Synth?!"

"John?!"

Pushing a door open, she heard repeated clicks. Then she felt a tear curling down her cheek. There was John. Cuffed. Onto a metal bar. And surrounded by bombs.

"WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT PULL THAT TRIGGER," he shouted, pointing at the rifle. She pulled her hand far away from the trigger. "Why not…?" she asked. "The bombs will detonate," he said. He had beads of cold sweat across his face.

"How long have you been down here?" she asked, rushing over to examine the chain. "Ever since the mission began."

"Did they have a spare key?"

"Check the cabinet over there," he pointed to a wooden cabinet on the wall. She pulled it open and examined it's contents. "What did it look like?" she asked. Trying to shovel deep into his mind, he decided it was a small brass-colored one.

"These are all silver," she said, closing the cabinet. Walking around, she examined any other file cabinets. All of them contained only documents and more silver keys. Finally after watching her searching and peeling to no avail, he sighed. "They probably took every copy of the key. You're going to have to break this manually," he said. She pulled out her kukri, and reluctantly began to saw at the chain. The screech of the blade sent cold shivers across her spine.

"This isn't going to work," she said. A portion of the blade had already become dull, and she'd only made a mere scratch. He looked around, hearing the thundering sound of the gunfire above pounding the ceiling.

"Go get a saw or something from a supply locker. I mean, doesn't the Medic use those things plenty?" he suggested. She wiped sweat from her face, and nodded with approval. Grabbing her rifle (but careful not to touch the trigger), she sprinted her way up into the battlefield. He watched her leave.

Running across the dirt, she ran inside as the door pulled open and closed. She lay the rifle aside and thrust the locker open. She raked aside the countless crates of ammo for a rocket launcher and for a minigun. Grabbing the handle of a Medic's saw, she tucked it under the vest and dashed back to John. Once again ignore calls for her assistance. Finding him there still cuffed, she set the rifle aside and pulled out the saw.

"Alright, now just… uh… try not to saw my hand off," he said. Rolling her eyes, she began to pull the saw across the scratch she'd made earlier. He watched her saw the chain, showing deep concentration. Even as her arm started to become sore and aching to stop, she continued to saw.

Then the rhythm let a high squeak, and the chain split apart. John fell back for a moment, but immediately regained strength. She'd shut her eyes for a moment, as though if she'd just caused murder. He suddenly grinned. The remaining bands of the cuffs were still attached. He didn't care. Running to her, he threw his arms around her and started she pulled her eyes open, and she blushed.

"I wouldn't be celebrating, mate."

John suddenly lifted his eyes from her shoulders to the BLU Sniper. He had his rifle ready, about to pull the trigger. Thrusting Synth behind him, he turned to face the Aussie.

"You know you're going to kill yourself too," he growled. The man rolled his eyes. "Son, how _stupid_ do you think I am?" he lowered the rifle, and threw it to the ground, kicking it far away. Then he raised his hands in the air. His expression, however, remained calm, even annoyed.

"What do you want?" clenching her fists tight, she stormed across the room and faced the man with fierce eyes. "You may want to look outside for yourself," he said, pointed upstairs. Suddenly, she realized the gunfire had suddenly subsided to silence. Grabbing the sniper's wrist, she thrusted him outside, and saw sudden emptiness.

"Oh… my god."

Hanging in the sky was a dark vortex, thunder chasing after lightning as it cackled angrily. "Yeah, _we _need to get out of here. Now," announced the BLU Sniper.


	6. Life After Death

_This is where we begin the journey. "No end."_

_Idiot. Journey. "End." Journey. "End." Journey. "End." Journey. "End." Journey. "End." Journey. "End." __Don't Stop Believin'.__ "Journey?" Haha. I win._

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"What…. _is _that?" Synth murmured. The BLU Sniper adjusted his sunglasses, and shook his head.

"I obviously don't know. But I definitely know that it's not gonna be a pleasant sight."

John looked down at the building directly under the vortex. It loomed right over the BLU base. "First, why are _you _helping us? I thought you hated me. And you hate her too." The man rolled his eyes, and surprisingly, slapped John across the face. Left on his face was a pounding red mark. "Does that show you that I still hate you?" He couldn't help but pull a sneer into his face. Synth snickered. John felt himself blush. "Alright. Fine, then." Synth then examined the sky again, and

"We need to get to the RED base. BLU is obviously not an option," Synth said.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Much different than she had expected, the RED base was basically deserted. The system's security didn't go off as John or the other Sniper had stepped in. The only sounds were of the air conditioning and the wailing sound of the heavy winds outside. Fishing around the weaponry, they began to stock up on food and weapons. Eventually guns and machinery would become useless pieces of scrap metal when they ran out of ammo, but if they conserved, they should be fine.

"I think we're ready," she said, and turned to see John with a black backpack on his shoulders, a new Scattergun tucked into his hands. Cautiously walking outside, he checked for any signs of a guard or RED mercenary. Then he made a motion to both Snipers, and they sprinted after him as he ran down the silent corridor. Humming of the computers lingered the halls.

"Don't you feel that this may feel a bit too… I don't know, _abnormal?_" the BLU Sniper whispered. "I think I hear somebody down there!" John started to sprint ahead and turned into a room. Quickly dashing after him, Synth suddenly stopped. "No John stop!"

John turned, and in front of him was the RED Engineer. Cowering in the corner, John was ready to end the Texan's life with one pull of the trigger. "John! Bloody god dammit leave the man alone!" the BLU Sniper shouted after Synth. Pulling back, he eyed the Sniper awkwardly. Synth, lower her rifle, pulled the Engineer up and looked around.

"Where is everyone mate?"

Still shaking, the Engineer answered with "They escaped after this… black, _monster _came in. I don't know _what the hell _it is, but it was _not _human." Synth nodded, and eyed John. "Come with us. There's this unpleasant hurricane-like thing outside. We need to go as far as we can from this place until it's either over or we find some kind of refuge," John sighed. She felt that he wasn't entirely used to the idea of trying to be neutral with RED mercenaries, other than her. Squeezing his hand for a moment, she let go.

"Now let's just get out of here, this place is getting really disturbing."

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Grabbing a dried log from under a bush, he dusted it off, and examined it. Looked fair enough for firewood. Tucking it under his arm, he started to walk into the direction of their campsite. Maybe he shouldn't have been to harsh against the RED Engineer. After talking with him for a while, he felt that he wasn't much different from the BLU Engineer. Well they were all Engineers right? He couldn't seem to look at his teammates the same way again after they had sentenced him to death for befriending Synth. It felt like someone throwing ice and salt (he'd tried the challenge before, and he definitely knew it was painful) onto him if he dared to set his mind onto it.

Walking along the thinly flowing creek, he watched the school of minnows swim along the currents. Why couldn't they all just swim along together like that? After looking at both the RED Engineer and Synth, maybe something between both teams he felt had been taken the wrong way. The eye of the vortex could still be vaguely seen in the distance, but the Engineer (somehow) had calculated that they were out of range for the night and most of the next day. He didn't feel as reassured, but at least he would be somewhat safe for tonight. Then he thought of the Engineer's report of this black monster. He'd never heard of such things. It must have moved in a lightning fast blur, definitely much faster than he could be at full speed, even though he would hate to admit it. Could it be something coming from the vortex? An escaped particle? Some unnamed entity? He decided it was better to leave this inquiry off for now.

Pawing bushes aside, he kneeled beside the young, fresh lit fire, and fed the log into it. The Engineer had been able to scratch a few sparks with a side of his wrench and a bit of quartz. Even though he was limited on metal, he was able to work on a device to track down the rest of the RED team, and soon they'd be able to find every class. He suddenly found him endorsed into watching the Engineer work on the device. It was about the size of a bible, and about just as thick. John began to feel that Engineers probably tinkered and worked with machinery 24/7. Even in bare-handed survival he seemed to be able to set aside time to do what he loved.

"Man, do ya just live on these things?" John suddenly asked. Both Snipers had climbed into the treetops to hunt for some game. So it was only him and the Texan. Adjusting his hard hat, he shrugged. "I guess. It's what I love to do. It calms me down, you know what I'm sayin'?"

John kicked his feet up, and looked into the fading blue sky. "You know what I wonder about sometimes?" he asked after a long moment.

"I'm listenin'."

"Is there life after death? I mean, like Heaven, Hell, or the Underworld? Or do souls just live on in the stars?"

The Engineer tightened a few screws. "Well kid that's a hard question to answer. It's like asking questions like 'Is the universe infinite space?' or 'What is love?'." John sighed, and set his eyes on the fire. Then the older man raised an eyebrow, and added, "Son, what I'm saying is that it's a question that we human beings ponder with. Do you really only live once? You won't find out until it happens. You can only hope for the best as you walk along the road known as Life." Suddenly the boy seemed to feel rather like something had been taught to him. "That's beautiful man." The Engineer blushed, and looked down at the device.

Emerging from the bushes were Synth and the Sniper.

"Who's hungry?"

_Hakuna Mantata. _


	7. Enter the Shadow

_Dude stop stalling with the fucking action!_

_Hush. Art is serious._

_Dafuq?_

_What?_

_Wut?_

_HAHAHAHA._

_No but seriously. Get on with the bloodshed._

_HUSH YA BLOODY WANKA._

expect this chapter to be really short.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The lone Shadow lurked across the empty corridor. Baring sharp white fangs, it hissed silently, and smirked as it echoed eerily down the halls. Then arching it's back, it let out a spine-chilling howl. A call to the pack, you could say. Darkness was growing stronger. Soon they would have their revenge from the centuries of shame and punishment.

Those silly humans were easy to drive away. Fools, they must be. A Shadow isn't even the worst phase of this round. Then looking around again, the Shadow grinned, and wiggled its long, bony fingers. Pushing it's finger tips against the floor, the tiles started to grow ice-cold, and then color drained. All was left was a withered, white, colorless portion of the floor. The Shadow felt new strength course within its body. There was nothing better than a quick absorption. Soon the world would be theirs to rule again. And those humans have become so dispute with each other that they'll fall easily. It was no big problem.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"Sweet…. wake up…" John shook her, and she murmured to make him go away. He shook her again, and she sluggishly pulled her eyes open, and there was John's face. She wanted to punch him for waking her up in the middle of the night, but he seemed worried. "What is it…?" she murmured. He had his hand pressed on her chest. Suddenly pulling his face against hers, he suddenly went still. She looked at him awkwardly. She crept her eyes onto the Engineer, and found him stiff on the ground, cautious not to move even a muscle. Same went for the other Sniper.

"What's going on?" she said, annoyed. "That," he motioned a finger at the woods. She squinted through her sunglasses, and suddenly ran cold. Right there was an unnatural dark shade of black. It looked like pure black ink smeared into the air, like a simple painting. "What… _is that?_" she whispered. "I don't know. But it definitely is interested in us." John squeezed her hand, until it turned dark purple. He tried to keep from her scream, although he was about to himself. Darting her eyes around, beads of sweat rolled down her face. Two beady white eyes glared down at her. John nor the others noticed it, but the sight of the pair of eyes only made it worse for her. He saw her sudden shock, and noticed the white eyes. He released her hand, and was about to reach for his pistol. Synth snapped her hand at his wrist, and clasped it there in place. The Engineer dared to pick his head up. A flash of white light zipped through the air, and right at Synth's feet was a black, tall figure. It's outline constantly shifted, it's aura so complex and dark it tangled her mind into several knots. This…. _thing _blurred and seem to static like a television, making sudden jerks and movements no being could perform. And it's white eyes beaded down at both John and her.

She felt a snap through the air.

Darting her eyes at the BLU Sniper, he'd taken out a Huntsman and had lodged an arrow right into the being's eye. Looking back at the unknown figure, she found the arrow lodged right in it's left eye, blood flashing colors of the rainbow, curling down. Only half expecting such a creature to die, the Sniper knocked another arrow, and shouted, "BLOODY WANKA, RUN!"

Taking his word, they grabbed their weapons, scrambled up and ran for the hills.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Coughing and wheezing, John crashed in the dirt. They'd been running for miles, countless hours. Much longer than he could bother to count.

"Where are we now?" he asked. The Engineer whipped out a pocket device, probably like a GPS or something of that sort. He suddenly raised his eyebrows with surprise.

"We're in Pennsylvannia."


	8. Begin the End

_Sometimes I procrastinate. A lot. In fact it's no surprise._

_Yes. THAT is my story. Wait… what about this one..._

_Oh! And considering that I recently actually read my work over, I realized that there are some minor grammar mistakes. I should probably fix that… *begin procrastination*_

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"How… HOW THE FUCK CAN WE BE IN FREAKIN' PENNSYLVANIA?!" John shouted.

"John, calm down. Considering how far we are now, we're probably safe now," Synth said, though she knew that it was probably a lie. The Engineer dusted something off his overalls. It was a flickering black dust, and when they fluttered into the air, they were a deep red color. "Whatever those creatures were, its definitely something paranormal. Something beyond what science can even explain. But my inquiry _may _be crazy, incorrect, anything, but they might have gone to some point where we were _teleported _to this location while we were running," he concluded. John looked down at his palms, and found the same black dust smeared only slightly on his skin. Synth looked down at her own hands and shirt, and found black dust on herself as well. When she dusted it off herself, however, the dust was instead pure black. John did the same, and his color was gray. The BLU Sniper finally wiped his off last, and it was pure black, like Synth.

"Why is it all a different color?" John asked. "Son, do you think I would know?" the Engineer replied, annoyed. Looking back down at the ground, Synth sighed. "We need a new plan. We're going to need a place to stay, a new life even."

The BLU Sniper shrugged. "We could collect some money, get on a plane and go to our separate places," he suggested. John shook his head. "There's no way I'm leaving Synth without knowing she's gonna be alright." Synth agreed silently. They looked at the RED Engineer. "I haven't really got any place to return. I haven't spoken to my parents in a while, and my brother's a busy lawyer." They all looked at each other again, and sighed. "There could be a bloody apocalypse going on, there could be a lot of bloody things happening," the BLU Sniper added. Looking down at their weapons and little supplies, they had little options left. They were going to need a place to stay.

Later into the day, John found himself into an abandoned drugstore. _This place is freaking trashed, _he thought to himself. Products on shelves were spread on the floor, the front desk a mess and displays were shuffled aside. He could only imagine what was going to happen next; if those monsters are getting this far at such a rate, disaster was going to happen. But for now, he could try his best to ignore it like the rest of them. He was just going to take some supplies, food and water (if any), and get the hell out of here. The chilling feel of abandonment shrouded the store.

"God damn…" he stepped over a pool of blood on the tiles. What had happened?

He unzipped his bag, and started to slip whatever was left on the shelves (which wasn't even a lot). Walking around the place, he examined a smear of blood on a window. It was shaped by handprints; he tried to picture a gory death of an innocent man or woman. The only thing that bugged him was… there weren't any corpses. Well it seemed like a stupid thing to be thinking of, but if someone died, shouldn't there have been a dead body? He didn't understand. And what was that black figure? It was some kind of supernatural thing he'd never seen before. He shivered, thinking of whatever could have happened. He unrolled his T-shirt sleeves, and folded his arms around himself. It was suddenly colder than it had been when he walked inside. He found some leftover granola bars on the front desk in a drawer. He tossed them in the last bits of medical supplies he found, and scrambled out of the store.

He later stopped at a hardware store, gasping for breath. Looking around, he sighed, and chuckled lightheartedly at himself. How stupid of him-nothing was following him. Squinting to look at the displays, he found this place just as much of a mess as the drugstore.

Maybe he could get some scrap pieces for the Engineer. Or better yet, something to defend himself with. He twisted the knob on the door; locked. He examined the glass window on the door. Thankfully, it wasn't wire reinforced. He spotted a brick laying on the sidewalk. He picked it up, and took a few steps away from the door, steadied himself, then swung it at the window. Carefully picking the remains of sharp glass away, he tossed the brick aside, and turned the small knob to unlock the door. He swung it open, and looked around. Around the door, there was a pool of blood smeared on the tiles, much like the drugstore.

Unable to see much of the store, he tried the light switch. It only managed a weak glow, flickering, an occasional spark falling. He adjusted to the dim light, and his eyes set onto the security monitor. He felt a bit uneasy; what if the camera had recorded him breaking in? Then he scoffed the thought; if this place was already left a mess, what bad would someone breaking in sometime later be? Maybe he should find some answers to the mess while he was there. He examined the system, and flipped to the recordings from three hours ago. The black and white video flickered to life, and he squinted to see two men, one rather tall and the other short, shouting at each other. It sounded more like fizzy gibberish, but he could tell that they were definitely spitting some bad things at each other. He flicked to another hour after.

The two men were still there, only this time sitting on the floor, mumbling something unclear. Then one screamed, and pointed to the back of the store. The screen started to flicker, making angry static sounds. The display flashed, and a limping figure approached the men, like a sluggish (but hungry) zombie.

And maybe that was what it was. It wasn't that kind of zombie from "The Night of The Living Dead". It wasn't very rotten; it was more like a possessed body. The low quality of the video took out much if its features. But the best he could make out was the same kind of black matter on the shadow monster. Suddenly the figure grabbed one of the men, causing the other to scream in panic. He scrambled to the door, the other reaching miserably as the short man locked the door behind him.

John grimaced as the possessed… _thing _started to literally eat the man alive, like a zombie. He quickly shut the video off, his fingers trembling as he stood there, the video paused at the gory death. Then he carefully took a long hard breath, and walked away from the recording.

He slipped some scrap metal into his bag. He found a baseball bat lying on the ground. Someone must have tried to defend themselves with it. It was a simple aluminum baseball bat. He shrugged; he'd discovered he'd lost his last one when they'd landed in Pennsylvania. Picking it up, he weighed it in his hands, and nodded, definitely satisfied with its quality. Finding nothing else useful, he left the store, only with more questions in his head.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"This is where we're gonna be staying?" Synth asked, looking at the lot, "Is this some kind of motel?"

The BLU Sniper sighed, and kicked a stone. It was a small lot, but it was blocked off from the outside dangers with a solid brick wall (and a wire fence over that), and the corner filled in with the building of the motel. The RED Engineer shrugged, and looked.

"Well hey, if we block off the entrances, we could last a long while, possibly long enough until this is over," he said. "Sounds like a plan," the Sniper agreed. Synth looked around, and sighed. Something told her that this wasn't going to be back to normal in a while. The Engineer later returned with John, the boy handling a bag full of supplies. However, he seemed rather… uneasy. Synth decided to let it go.

"John here has some… _things _to tell you."


	9. What Next?

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION_

_But anyway… thanks for the positive reflections… *two actually…. forever alone*_

_WHOAAAA NEW HEADPHONES, NEW KEEEYBBOAAAARRDDDD_

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The BLU Pyro breathed heavily through his mask. He murmured a curse, clasping the fire axe tightly in his hands, he walked down the alley. Oh, he'd seen death before his eyes. The collapse of everyone's moral codes. The beginning of the collapse of society. What had they done wrong? He murmured to himself, everything around him only hearing inaudible mumbles.

"I guess when Jesus said he'd resurrect the dead… this is mankind's punishment," he murmured to himself. He looked around at the dead bodies. He'd killed them. The only time he'd killed people that weren't RED mercenaries. Looking around, he started to walk away from the corpses. They would find him soon, and sitting there was being bait. He needed to remain quiet too. Making _any _loud noises was like ringing the dinner bell. _Hey, who's hungry, I'm ready to be eaten alive! _He always wondered what it be like if everyone could be taught a lesson, taught how to survive by not fighting and instead pulling together. He didn't expect it to be like this. The fire axe was stained with fresh blood. He grimaced under his mask, and looked at the sun. It was a new morning. A new morning of the end.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Engineer tightened the last screw. Finally, his new little toy was going to be finished. He smiled to himself, and placed the screwdriver on the table. John's collection of the extra scrap was definitely a great help. When they would find the rest of the RED and BLU teams, maybe they could survive together until this madness was all over.

He actually had faith now. Maybe this was all going to get better soon. And it wasn't for another few days until he'd know that he was wrong.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"Come on John… ye can tell me. I'll hold it in. I promise." John looked down at his cleats. Her sweet voice only made it worse. She hadn't seen what those monsters had done. And he was going to wish it would stay that way. If someone was going to die, it wasn't going to be her, and she definitely wasn't going to be the first to die either. He was going to guard her, even if she was already strong enough. But then what good was he? He was just a dumb shit running around with a baseball bat.

He closed his eyes, and held her hand, squeezing it tightly. He watched the others, the Engineer crept up in the garage with the door open, working on the tracking device. The BLU Sniper was keeping watch on top of the RV they'd found parked in the back. They'd moved trash dumps to seal off the entrance. He tried to tell himself that they'd be safe. For now.

He looked into Synth's eyes, behind her sunglasses. Those dark, mysterious eyes…

"Those things I saw… god damn, I could be wrong, but they used to be human. And what do they do? They eat other humans, and just so they can rise and become one of them. It's some kind… some kind of _zombie _apocalypse. Its… It's NOTHIN like the movies. It's not a video game, its not anythin'. The worse part is it's all fuckin' real! You really only live once. You get bitten, your screwed," he said, nearly yelling. The Sniper had turned to his screams, the Engineer had stopped turning screws to eye him. Synth rested her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. Slight fear filled her expression.

"It's… It's alright. We're safe for now. We have food, water, supplies, and most importantly, we have light," she said in a soothing voice. John however, was not convinced by her words.

"No! You don't understand! We're not safe! Soon, when one of us, just _one _is bit, we're _all fucked. _We've murdered each other plenty before. But now… NOW it's just different!" he said, his voice now raised to a shout.

"Aye! Mate ya betta calm down or ye gonna attract them dead shits you're yappin' about!" the Sniper shouted back.

Synth leaned onto his shoulder, and sighed.

"John… please… just… calm down, you have us. It's different now," she said, although she could already feel that nothing was going to be better. John squeezed her hand, and sighed. "I'm sorry sweet… I'm just… scared. I mean, what if was you out there or-"

"Let's not think that far… let's try to keep it positive, alright mate?"

He cracked a smile, and nodded. He planted a kiss on her cheek, and they sat there, for once not interrupted, with nothing to worry for.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"Aye… I think I see somebody nearby! It looks like a mate from the BLU!" the Sniper called. The RED Engineer looked at his new tracking device, and found the marker. "It's a BLU Pyro."

"Wait… Snipes, check if he's bit through that scope!" John said. The Sniper rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell… mate are ya gonna let it go?! The man's dyin out there!" But only to keep the boy from any further temper tantrums, he looked through the scope of his rifle, and took a closer look at the Pyro. He was waving his arms madly, carrying a fire axe and a bag on his shoulder. As he'd figured, there wasn't a sign of any bite marks.

"He's fine. Let him in!"

They pulled a dump aside, and the Pyro waddled in. Despite wearing a mask, he seemed desperate. And that was until he started to mumble desperately.

How they wished they could understand what he was saying.


	10. Everywhere Else

_I'M WAKING UP_

_I FEEL IT IN MY BONES_

_ENOUGH TO MAKE MY SYSTEMS BLOW_

_WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE_

_*SOME MORE SONG LYRICS GO HERE*_

_RADIOACTIVE, RADIOACTIVE_

_OKAY LET'S STAHP SINGING AND PROCRASTINATING DON'T YOU THINK_

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The shadow lurked across the lonely streets. It smirked, and hovered there to look at the land. It was going to be all theirs again. All for them to rule. What would be the punishment for the survivors? The shadow pondered for a while. What was going to be the first year? Some of them could do their work. Turn their shitty structures to something of their taste. Do what they wanted, and if not, the punishment would be death without further question. Reproduction would only be under permission. There couldn't be a third child. Or death was the certain answer. They could have rations of food and supplies. Not doing work could result in splitting their rations in half. Yes, that all sounded good. Soon, it would be run _their _way. The way it should be.

Then it remembered those idiots. It could sense that there was going to be a terrible reputation with those in the upcoming future.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Sniper regretted to agreeing to step out of the motel. Common question to ask; Why? Let's begin like this.

The RV still needed to be toyed around with, as there already was a functioning truck in the back, with a gas tank nearly full. The Engineer had insisted on looking around for any survivors from Mann Co, despite that they could be throwing themselves into whatever shit that John had mentioned, leaving the Pyro behind to keep watch. And they had received a front row seat of what these shits were. After finding about no one, it was until they'd stopped somewhere in the town, looking for gas.

He spotted a group hoarded beside a corner.

"Hey, ye friendly? Vehicle's run outta gas!" he called to them. It was when they turned to show their faces, that he'd seen John's once assumed nonsense become true.

"Shit!" the Engineer shouted. "I don't have any weapons!"

"I left my bat back at the motel!"

"You're all idiots, you know that?!"

It was until they'd heard sudden gunfire, and they all turned to find a familiar sight; the BLU Spy, with the RED Scout, BLU Medic, and the RED Soldier. All of them except the Spy were crept behind an iron gate holding off everything outside. They seemed to have been taking refuge in an abandoned shop.

"_You _are all fools! Get your _ânes _in here!" he shouted to them, reloading his revolver. He started to pull back behind the gate as the ones standing outside poured into the building they'd been settled in. The Spy shot another corpse in between its eyes, leaving them only mere seconds. It was when John had tripped on a brick, falling on his side, lagging behind. As it had always would be, Synth had turned to come to his need. One of the corpses grabbed his foot, Synth coming just as it grabbed to grasp his hand. Attempting to kick the corpse, he reached his other hand for her to reach. Another gunfire echoed, and the corpse's head blew to red mush. The remaining piece fell backwards, leaving John free, but stained in dark muck and blood. He got up after Synth, holding her hand as she pulled him behind the iron gate, the Spy closing it and locking it shut.

"You stupid _shits!_ We cannot take these chances!" the Spy shouted at his previous group members. "Well we couldn't have left them to die either!" the Soldier protested. The Spy turned and looked at the group that had entered in. He grimaced at John, looked at the RED Engineer, then Synth, then the Sniper. "Well, what a coincidence," he muttered under his breath, sighed, and tucked the revolver into his suit. "And _you_, Soldier, _you _are not the one to make decisions here." The Soldier now remained silent. Then the Spy clasped his hands together, and looked at the others. "Now I know we're all trapped in this… er, _market. _But under these circumstances, we're going to have to get out of here. Ideas anyone?"

No one spoke a word, leaving the Spy to only scowl at them.

"We _could _just get ourselves cabin fever and see who attacks first?" the RED Scout shrugged. He lacked a Boston accent, and rarely spoke. All their eyes averted to the Spy again, and he rubbed his temples. "Come on you fools! You kill each other in cold blood _every day _before this shit happened. Why can't you think now?!" he said with disgust. He started to pace around the room, and lit a cigarette. Looking over at the side, he found John crept on a stack of milk crates, Synth carefully cleaning off the blood, checking for any wounds, or worse, bite marks. John carefully watching her as she cleaned him.

"Oh please, don't tell me we are going to be _trapped _in here with one of those corpses!" he shouted. She glared into the Spy's eyes. "I'm cleaning him off, there isn't a bite."

The Spy approached her, looking angry. "You all know what happened to us when we let one of them with us! They slowed us down, and then they turned!" Synth continued to wipe blood from John's skin. The Spy however, was not convinced. He pulled out his revolver again.

"Alright hold on! Son, you can't just go ahead and start thinking its okay to shoot the boy without much of a reason!" The Engineer said, stepping between Synth and the Spy. He lowered the revolver. "Please, you know it works. Someone gets bitten, we don't care, then that shit turns and we're all fucked! That's what happened to the RED Demoman!" he said, shouting at the Texan. The Engineer suddenly stopped speaking, out of words. He couldn't say anything for the death of the Scottish man. The BLU Sniper walked in, glaring into the Spy's eyes, showing a distant fierceness in his expression.

"Look, we've all been through enough for a day. If someone's gonna turn, let's be ready then!" he shouted at him. Then he turned to Synth, and found her cleaning off the remains of blood on John's face. He'd been shaken as they'd been arguing with the Spy.

"I found nothing. He's fine." They all sighed in relief.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Night was beginning to fall over the sky, the sun faintly burning out farther to the west, ready to greet the east. The Engineer had found a small television set in the closet, and a cable set. After plugging it in and connecting a few wires, he'd set it on a table, and turned to a news channel. Everyone, lacking anything to do, quietly crowded around the television screen, the Engineer slowly turning up the volume.

A woman sat at a desk with a stack of papers in her hands, giving a common television reporter's straight face at the viewers, a blank square at the corner of the screen.

"Recent reports from locals have stated that possessedwalking figures had been allegedly _eating _people alive on the streets. Citizens with guns and other weaponry in their homes have begun to open fire on the walking corpses. Local police have also been forced to open fire on these unusual creatures, attempting their best to defend locations of unharmed areas." The square in the corner had begun to show recordings of townspeople running from small groups of the corpses. It then showed a group of police crouched behind barriers, shooting at every corpse that walked within ten yards.

The Engineer flicked a different channel.

"…The US military has begun to report to sites of severe disaster of a supposed 'zombie outbreak,' the death poll dramatically rising. Many citizens have begun to travel to camps in public spaces where they are provided with supplies and medical needs. We will now follow up to Kathy in Pennsylvania." The screen flickered to a woman standing out in front of officers crowded behind barricades, ready to shoot at every corpse. "Thank you, we've been trapped under many close calls for the past few hours, many becoming very ill with high fevers and skin color turned to gray. If you are unable to travel to a local camp, please stay at home and prepare weapons and food for defense at the worst disasters, and remember to keep-"

The woman was interrupted by loud gunfire, and she turned to find officers shooting at rising body bags, nearby corpses slowly trudging down the alley. The screen flickered, and returned to the news station.

"God damn…" the Soldier murmured, adjusting his helmet. The RED Scout looked down at his feet. Everyone continued to watch further reports on the corpses. That was, except for the Spy. He quietly pulled away from them, and walked to the front entrance, to go outside where they'd locked the iron fence. Synth carefully followed after him. He closed the door behind him, crossed his arms over his chest, and sighed, looking at all the lifeless corpses trudging in endless patterns in the streets.

"What has become of this world? First a pointless war between companies, now _this? _It disgusts me," he muttered to himself.

"The corpses aren't the only problem, you know." He turned, Synth coming to stand beside him, to look at the corpses. "Why do you say that?"

She adjusted her sunglasses. "Imagine the worst. In this kind of situation, think about power plants, food producers, farms providing food. If those people die off, what good are we by then? Those people can't just stay there in those places; they have families of their own. People they love, people they care for too. What if things _don't _get better? Is this how we're going to be cursed by God? Don't think that these walking corpses are just piles of rotten flesh; their a lot stronger than you think. Once they grab you, its hard to get them off."

The Spy looked back at the corpses standing in the streets. She picked up a tile on the ground, showing it the Spy.

"And here's something I picked up while we were coming here." He focused on her movements, watching her as she stood in a position, ready to throw the tile. She made her mark, and sent it flying through the air to a wall, where it shattered into smaller shards, sending a noise through the air. The corpses all turned to the direction of the where the tile shattered, many of the mindlessly pressing themselves onto the wall, trying to reach for a meal that was never there.

"I don't understand what your trying to show me."

She smirked, placing her hands on her hips, watching at the corpses continued to paw at the wall. "You see how they just mindlessly push themselves on the wall?"

The Spy nodded.

"They probably can't even see anything at all. They only react to sound, and when they hear it, they go towards it, hoping something of their taste is there," she said, motioning to the crowd of corpses. "I've been thinking that it could be a way to get out of here. If we can get them to stay in one place long enough, we can be able to make our escape, to the motel we're staying at."

"I see what you are saying, _mon ami. _Should we put this to usage?" he asked. She nodded, and they walked back inside.

The both of them returned inside to find them all scattered in places around the small store. "We should get out of here," the Spy announced to the scattered men.

"Don't you zhink we've already realized zat?" the Medic muttered. He'd been quiet for much of the time. "Ah, Doctor, if we were to leave to this motel we speak of, how are we going to leave this store when there are those _fiends _ready to chew our flesh to our bones, only so we can rise to be like them?"

The Medic closed his mouth.

"But we have a plan. Synth here has been studying them closely, and we have a plan to make our way back to the motel. But being that your truck has run out of gas, we're going to have make our way back on foot."

They all exchanged glances with each other, and they all quietly agreed.

"Very well then, now this is a must; _all of you have to stay quiet._"

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"What exactly are we supposed to be doing?" John whispered quietly. He clutched a pipe in his hands, crouched behind Synth.

"Just watch, and try not to make a sound, or we're fucked for sure," she said, trying to hide a smile. The Spy unlocked the gate, and they watched as Synth carefully began to creep down the sidewalk, picking a brick off the ground. She crouched on the sidewalk, and looked at the wall; the wall she'd thrown at earlier. She balanced the brick in her hand, steadied herself, and flung it at the wall. It hit the wall with a loud clack, falling to the ground with more clacks. All of the corpses started to trudge over to the wall, just like she had demonstrated before. She motioned for the group to follow after her.

And they all did, carefully crouched as they walked.

That was until the Soldier kicked nail on the ground, hitting a post. And damn, it attracted them all. They all turned to the Soldier, shocked at what he'd done. They'd been revealed.

"Screw whatever we said! JUST FREAKING _RUN!_"

They all sprung up, none of them looking back as they started to run. "If you don't have a weapon, get one now! We're going to have to fight our way through!"

The BLU Sniper swiped a pole off the ground.

The RED Scout picked a hammer from a pile of shattered glass.

The Soldier pulled out a pickaxe.

The Medic whipped out his saw.

And just like that, they all started to fight their way through the hoard of corpses, not giving any hesitation in each blow.

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Later into that night, they all stayed up in the lot, listening to the portable radio they'd set up on a table.

_"Recent reports have stated that this disaster is not occurring just within the East Coast. Many states throughout the United States have been plagued by this unknown (and uncontrollable) virus drawing its shadow over the nation. Citizens are asked strictly to travel to local camps where they can be provided with supplies and a place to be safe. If anyone nearby has been bitten by one of these infected, do not go near them. If you are unable to reach a local camp, please stay at home, prepare food and defense, as the US military will work to sweep across states affected with major disaster."_

The Engineer flicked the radio off.

"I think that's enough for tonight." They all agreed. There was enough food and supplies to feed them for the time being. As most of them receded to the buildings, Synth and John stayed up, watching the sky.

"Geez, it's cold," John murmured, unrolling his t-shirt sleeves, and curling up tightly. Synth smiled, and pulled out something; a gray zipper hoodie. "I found it in one of the rooms, I'm pretty sure it'll fit you."

She tucked it over his shoulders, and he slipped his arms through the sleeves, zipping it over his t-shirt.

"Wow, thanks," he said.

"It wasn't much," she shrugged, holding his hand. He smiled, and let her lean on his shoulder.

"Ya know, I never thought they would ever get along."

"Who?"

"Oh ya know, the RED and BLU mercenaries? I mean, they've brutally slaughter each other plenty. Now, it's like they're actually friends for a change."

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_Well, a slightly longer chapter. You're welcome._


End file.
